Michelin couv courteGB

Statutory Auditors’ Report
on the financial statements
Year ended 31 December, 2004
To the Shareholders,
In compliance with the assignment entrusted to us by the
Shareholders, we hereby report to you, for the year ended
December 31, 2004, on:
• the audit of the accompanying financial statements of
Compagnie Générale des Etablissements Michelin;
• the justification of our assessments;
• the specific verifications and information required by law.
These financial statements have been approved by the Managing
Partners. Our role is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audit.
Opinion on the financial statements
We conducted our audit in accordance with professional
standards applicable in France. Those standards require that
we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance
about whether the consolidated financial statements are free
of material misstatement. An audit includes examining,
on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures
in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing
the accounting principles used and significant estimates made
by the management, as well as evaluating the overall financial
statements presentation. We believe that our audit provides
a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements give a true and fair view
of the Company’s financial position and its assets and liabilities
as of 31 December 2004 and of the results of its operations for
the year then ended in accordance with the accounting rules and
principles applicable in France.
Paris, 14 March, 2005
Justification of our assessments
In accordance with the requirements of article L.225-235 of the
Commercial Code relating to the justification of our assessments,
we bring to your attention the following matter:
• The note to the accounts “Provisions on investments” discloses
a release of provision for depreciation for an amount of
€96 million on Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques
Michelin shares. When assessing the valuation assumptions of
the Company, we reviewed the appropriateness of the impairment
methodology applied and the correctness of the provision
release.
The assessments were made in the context of our audit of the
financial statements, taken as a whole, and therefore contributed
to the formation of the unqualified opinion expressed in the first
part of this report.
Specific verifications and information
We have also performed the specific verifications required by law
in accordance with professional standards applicable in France.
We have no matters to report regarding the fair presentation and
the conformity with the financial statements of the information
given in the management report of the Managing Partners, and
in the documents addressed to the shareholders with respect to
the financial position and the financial statements.
As required by the law, we also verified that details of the
identity of shareholders are disclosed in the Managing Partners’
Report.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit Corevise
Dominique PAUL Stéphane MARIE
Statutory Auditors’ special Report
on regulated agreements
Year ended 31 December, 2004
To the Shareholders,
In our capacity as Statutory Auditors of your Company, we are
required to report to shareholders on agreements involving
directors that have been disclosed to us by the Company’s
management. Our responsibility does not include identifying
any undisclosed agreements.
We have not been informed of any agreements governed
by article L. 226-10 of the Commercial Code.
Translated from the original French language report
Paris, 14 March, 2005
PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit Corevise
Dominique PAUL Stéphane MARIE
Statutory Auditors
Members of the Compagnie Régionale de Paris